Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2018

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E n g a g i n g L o n g - T e r m C o m m u n i t y
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but rather the people who have yet to move in. "After I signed the
lease, Tony [Santoro, of Enderly Coffee] said, 'You should go to these
discussions they're having about how gentrifi cation is happening in
West Charlotte, and how we can learn from mistakes made in other
Charlotte neighborhoods,'" says Ian Kolb, owner of Cuplux Coffee
Drive-Thru in Charlotte, N.C. Cuplux is on the west side of Charlotte,
and Ian has never lived there. "So I attended a few, and those conver-
sations really put things into perspective. I don't live in the neighbor-
hood, so I was self-conscious to open in the west side. I didn't want to
be perceived as someone trying to exploit the neighborhood."
Ian says he's been welcomed, but he does notice when people treat
his café as a golden outlier in the area. "Sometimes people come in and
say, 'Oh, we're so glad you're here because there's nothing here.' And
that's sort of a backhand compliment, so I say, 'Actually, there are a
number of thriving businesses around here.' When I see others with
their lenses on, I try to correct them," he says. "In our café, we always
point out other businesses that have been here for years."
Another reason cafés get tied in with gentrifi cation is because they
are community hubs. "Coffee shops and bars are places that people
gather—they don't just sell things. Coffee shops are the places that
create socialization," says Jeffrey Parker, a Ph.D. candidate in the
department of sociology at the University of Chicago. "Coffee shops
are sort of the front lines. If you don't live in a neighborhood, the
exposure you have to the neighborhood will likely be things that can
be consumed." Jeffrey notes the fact that cafés and bars are places
where people gather to eat and drink can infl uence how non-native
inhabitants perceive their surroundings and engage with longtime
residents. "Coffee shops provide a place where people can spend
time together. And if residents think they're bringing in people that
shouldn't be there, it's easy to point to them as changing the neigh-
borhood," he says.
For many, the argument would end there—you can't control who
walks into your café, can you? Turns out there are a number of signals,
signifi ers, and steps a café owner can take to help ensure all kinds of
folks feel welcome. It just requires a bit of work.
If the act of building a café brings to mind just the logistics—buy-
ing equipment, hiring, and physically creating a space—you're not
alone. Ian of Cuplex Coffee, however, points out that engagement
with the community has to be on that list, too. "People need to
prioritize it, as much as you prioritize hiring new employees. Reach
out to neighborhood associations; reach out to people in the area.
Make an effort in an educated way. And hire people who live in the
neighborhood," he says.
Across the country in Portland, Ore., Ian Williams did exactly that
when he opened Deadstock Coffee—it was part of his original mission.
"I'm a person who loves community and community spaces," he says.
A sneaker afi cionado who has designed shoes for Nike, Ian craved a
space where other sneakerheads could come together. He didn't like
that bars excluded young people, so he went with a coffee shop and
opened Deadstock with the intention of creating a space where people
could hang out. "I wanted to create a space where it's okay to stay …
coffee shops have the potential to be anything," he says. "There are
people who come in to have a fi rst date, and people who come in to
study or to hang out and talk about shoes."
Ian recalled some off-putting experiences he had had in cafés.
Many places in Portland, he says, felt "sterile, with white walls and
no one wants to help you. You enter these spaces and you leave
feeling pissed off, but you don't know why." At Deadstock, Ian hires
people who "instinctually want to help you. Finding those people is
the biggest part of hiring." Every person who walks into the café is
greeted by a staff member—and not just with a quick hello, but a
comment or question to let the person know the employee is there
to help. "The space between the register and the entrance is short,
and there's no menu—baristas have to make it a point to introduce
themselves," Ian says.
Empowering employees is key, especially when you operate doz-
ens of stores. "Our managers, shift leads, and baristas are the face
of the business. They're the ones really running the business, and
the way we empower them to make good decisions is key," says Lori
Haughey, VP of retail for Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago. Along
with being equipped with strong leaders, she says, each Intelligen-
tsia shop is designed to create an experience meant to serve its
patrons. "The service models at every Intelligentsia have to speak
to the neighborhood," she says, specifi cally noting the company's
location in Logan Square, a neighborhood in Chicago often refer-
enced in gentrifi cation discussions on a city level. "The service model
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